Tuesday, October 13, 2015

OneDice Urban Fantasy: Factions

Note: This is a post I started working on back in June when I was fiddling with OneDice Urban Fantasy. Totally forgot about it and just now got around to finishing and publishing it.

Here are some factions for OneDice Urban Horror. Really you could use them in any urban fantasy/modern horror game, if it were to strike your fancy.

*The Shadow Hand- A mostly-vampire faction dedicated to the covert subjugation of humankind through the manipulation of governments, banks, and other pillars of power. By mental domination, seduction, or other coercion, the Shadow Hand acquires power behind the scenes. Rather than attempt to control powerful figures directly, they prefer to work behind "layers" of influence. For instance, rather than simply attempt to control a powerful Senator, the Shadow Hand would rather control the mistress of the CEO of the company that is the Senator's main campaign contributor.

The Shadow Hand is based out of Milan, Italy, but the organization has agents and cells all over the world. Their primary sphere of influence is in Europe.

*The High Order of Thoth- This is an organization of mages whose purpose is to preserve and advance the arts of magic. The organization is traditionally run by wizards, who in fact make up the bulk of its members. There are a few sorcerers and necromancers in the organization, but they are admitted on a probationary basis and watched closely; seldom are they permitted to advance very high within the Order. The Order's membership is strictly human, without exception. Members who become vampires or are otherwise transformed are immediately expelled.

The High Order of Thoth was once based in Cairo, Eygypt, but the main headquarters moved to London, England in the late 19th century. The stronghold in Cairo is still a place of considerable power and influence in the organization. The Order of Thoth controls parts of the Middle East and has influence in the Americas, the United Kingdom, Spain, and France.

*The Unification Society- A faction consisting of many types of supernaturals. The Society believes that the Fae realm and the mortal world are a single realm that was divided. Their goal is to bring down the barrier between the two and merge the realms. They do not believe in "pure" humans, but rather that humans are simply Fae-blooded with deeply suppressed natures.

The Society is headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan. The cells are small and widespread throughout southeast Asia. There are minor presences of the Society across Europe and the Americas. They are global, but don't have nearly the resources of some of the other factions.

*The Dawn- An organization composed of mostly natural humans who are aware of, and opposed to, the supernatural. They do boast some supernatural members, all of whom are either penitent of their nature or somehow forcefully conscripted.Some Dawn members wish to annihilate supernatural creatures, others see them as victims to be cured. The Dawn is also dedicated to destroying magical items, closing magical portals, and neutralizing sites of power.

The Dawn is based out of Rome, Italy and has considerable influence in the Mediterranean. The organization's influence has also spread to New Zealand and parts of Australia. They have a small but fierce presence in Mexico and the southeastern United States.

*The Circle of the Moon- A confederation of werewolf packs (though their members boast some other types of shapeshifters as well) that operates in North America. (Mostly the northern US and Canada) The Circle packs are primarily interested in locating newly turned werewolves or emergent shifters, teaching them how to use their gifts and finding a balance between their animal and human selves. The Circle also opposes the American operations of the Shadow Hand, as well as occasionally engaging in eco-terrorism where it could potentially affect wolves.

Being a series of individual packs, the Circle doesn't have a headquarters per se, but large regional gatherings sometimes happen in the mountains of Colorado in the US and southern Ontario in Canada.

*The Circus- A faction of outcasts and drifters, supernaturals who want to escape join the Circus. This group operates as a circus, travelling the back roads and rural areas of America. Members must have some ability to perform or aid in the operation of the Circus itself. As such, the faction counts members of many different 'species' of supernaturals among their numbers, though fae-blooded are the most common.

Being mobile, the Circus has no headquarters. They avoid staying in one place and try not to revisit areas more than once every decade. The other factions tend to distrust the Circus, seeing them as vagabonds and criminals.

*The Legion- An organization of supernatural mercenaries. While there are several such organizations, the Legion is the largest and most well known. The Legion is often contracted by factions that have resources but not necessarily martial acumen. They have a reputation for getting the job done with no questions asked. They are thoroughly non-political, caring little for who hires then and for what. Members of the Legion are consummate professionals, and those who prove to be otherwise are expelled from the organization or worse.

The Legion is presently headquartered in Belgrade, Serbia. There are smaller regional headquarters in the US, Colombia, and eastern Pakistan. The Legion trades in cash as well as mystical resources.

The soldiers of the legion are a mixed group. Lots of werewolves and large shifters abound, but the Legion also boasts vampires, cambions, and any martially-talented supernatural. (They even have some exceptionally gifted human soldiers who are aware of the supernatural world)

*The Coven of Hecate- A faction of witches. The membership of the CoH is mostly female. They accept anyone, human or otherwise, who has some kind of magical ability. All traditions are welcomed. Because of this, the CoH has a fairly shady reputation, since they accept necromancers and sorcerers just as readily as the "white magics" like druidism.

The CoH has three headquarters: one in the Bulgarian city of Stara Zagora, one in the Greek city of Komotini, and one in the Turkish city of Edirne, all of which were once part of the ancient sorcerous realm of Thrace.

Whereas the High Order of Thoth promotes the study and preservation of magic, the Coven of Hecate focuses on the advancement of its members. The faction is also interested in acquiring objects and places of power.